Green Card lottery - facing axe - to name 2014 winners

WASHINGTON :Around 100,000 people will be chosen from several million hopefuls to get a US GreenCard on Wednesday, in what could be the last year of the annual lottery , slated to vanish under proposed reforms. Each year, 50,000 permanent residency permits are allocated to people from countries that see relatively few emigrants depart for the United States. Created in 1995, the lottery system aims to diversify the range of places from which people migrate to the United States. It's a wildly popular program, prompting millions of applicants - a figure that has only grown in recent years. But it has long been in the crosshairs of US Republican lawmakers, who control the House of Representatives and say it adds no value to the economy.Now, they have included a plan to scrap it in the comprehensive immigration reform plan currently being debated in Congress. A final vote on the reforms is not expected before this summer, but if it passes, the diversity visas would vanish from next year.